Jing hu master Mr. Zhengang Xie and yue qin master Ms. Mei Hu, a husband and wife team, are listed as members of the elite group among the musicians in the Directory of Current Chinese Artists of 1998, which Ms. Hu participated editing. While in China, as the top “Cheng” style Peaking Opera fiddler, Mr. Xie and Ms. Hu performed and recorded as solo jing hu and yue qin players with many top Beijing Opera houses, including the Beijing Opera House and National Opera House. In addition to performing transitional Peking Opera repertoire, Xie has participated in many new opera productions, such as the Peking Opera TV show Cao Xueqin and the new opera The Legend of The White Snake. Xie has also performed in the Great Hall of People in Beijing during a Lunar New Year celebration, and was greeted by the Chairman Jiang Zemin, among other top Chinese government officials.
Since moving to the U.S. in 1999, the couple has brought Chinese music, particularly Peking Opera, to their community. While living in Cincinnati from 2000 to 2020, Xie and Hu performed in concert halls, schools, and universities around the region. In collaborations with University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, they performed concertos such as In the Dark Night, The Qiao Family Compound and The God of Mountain. Xie and Hu currently reside in Plymouth, Minnesota, near their son, Minnesota Orchestra Principal Bassoon Fei Xie, and his family. Mr. Xie and Ms Hu performed in 2022 Lunar New Year concert with Minnesota Orchestra and will be performing again in 2024 Lunar New Year concert at Minnesota Orchestra Hall.
Guzheng artist Mr Jiaxiang Li studied yangqin, ruan, and other musical instruments under his father’s guidance from very young age. Later, he studied the guzheng with Ms Fan Shange, a renowned guzheng artist in China.
In 1981, Mr. Li joined the Chinese traditional music ensemble at the Beijing Dance Academy. He became a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association.
In 1995, Mr. Li moved to Minnesota. He has engaged in guzheng performances, teaching, and promoting Chinese music in Minneapolis.
In 2005, Mr. Li founded the Xiangyin Zhengyuan. Over the past decade, he has led students to participate in various community activities, spreading Chinese traditional culture more widely. Over the years, Mr. Li has nurtured numerous guzheng students and enthusiasts in Minnesota.
In 2021, he gave an online “Lecture on the Heritage and Development of the Guzheng” to the Chinese communities in the Twin cities that was well received by the audiences.
Mr. Guangqing Liu began studying the jinghu (a two-stringed fiddle used in Beijing opera) at an early age, receiving systematic training in music composition and instrumental performance under renowned musicians including Guo Junming, Zhu Jianyang, Wang Yinquan, and Zhu Guangdou. He later worked for many years in several performing arts troupes, engaging in both composition and performance.
After immigrating to the United States, he actively participated in community cultural events and devoted himself to promoting traditional Chinese instrumental music. He has performed as an erhu player with the Minnesota Chinese Music Society and the Minnesota Huayue Ensemble, and in 2015, he organized erhu enthusiasts in Minnesota to participate in numerous community performances and cultural exchange activities. He has also led members of the Minnesota Erhu Association in multiple joint performances with renowned erhu virtuoso Zhu Changyao, receiving enthusiastic acclaim from audiences in Minnesota.
In recent years, he has studied Cantonese music and the performance of the gaohu (Cantonese high-pitched fiddle), and he currently serves as both a gaohu and erhu performer with the Minnesota Huayue Ensemble.
Ningsheng Huang, Ph.D, professor at Dunwoody College of Technology in Minnesota. He was a flute player in Symphony Orchestra of University of Science and Technology of China and drum set player in a Rock band in Beijing. In recent years, he is keen on spreading Chinese culture and promoting Sino-US cultural exchanges, serving as a Tai Chi instructor in the Twin-cities area. He plays some Chinese traditional musical instruments, such as bamboo flute and hulusi. He is an accordion player as well.
Ms. Wanwen Chen, also known as Vivian Chen, graduated in Music Education from Guangzhou City. She worked as an elementary school music teacher in Guangzhou, where she conducted a choir that achieved first place in the Guangzhou Primary and Secondary School Choral Festival. In the 1980s, she was a regular performer at a popular music hall. After moving to Minnesota, USA, she served as a music teacher at the Legacy Adult Daycare Center, conducting male and female vocal groups and small choirs. She also taught extracurricular classes at the Hopkins Community Center. Additionally, she plays Da Ruan, violin, cello, and keyboard.
Feng Zhu, founder of the Minnesota Huayue Music Ensemble and the principal Erhu player of the ensemble, is a long time Erhu enthusiast. He was the principal erhu player in the Chinese Musical Ensemble at Peking University. He is also a member of Minnesota Erhu Association. In recent years, he has been active in participating in community musical events around the twin cities through solo, group and ensembles.
Spencer Becker began studying music at a young age, and took up Upright Bass at 14, soon starting lessons with Jeff Castleman, a retired professional musician from Los Angeles, California.
Spencer plays Upright Bass, Electric Bass, Guitar, Piano, and is a Vocalist. He has had a diverse musical background, from Christian Liturgical Music, to Jazz, Musical Theatre, American Folk, and Rock Music. He debuted performing Chinese music with Ningsheng Huang in 2018, and has been performing with Minnesota Huayue Music Ensemble since 2024.
He is currently the Worship Leader at Church on the Hill in Chaska, MN, and teaches for Children’s Music Academy of Minnesota and privately.